I haven't gotten past the fear stage in all of this. Will President Donald Trump—a revolting phrase if there ever was one—act on his campaign promises? Will he really ban Muslims from entering the country, enact penalties for women choosing to have abortions, tear up all of the work (albeit small) that President Barack Obama has made on climate change? Republicans will soon control every branch of the federal government and the majority of statehouses and governorships in our country. There is no real check on Trump's vengeance.
There is no silver lining to this hurricane cloud, but there are friends to drink with underneath its rain. We are a beer city, one of the greatest beer cities in the world, and cities voted overwhelmingly against Trump, so we should drink together. And we should drink our own beer. We need cities to keep being the economic engines of this country, and we need to build up our resources for the fight ahead. Head to a brewery or a bar and meet your fellow Seattleites who overwhelmingly voted against the demagogue, and drink Seattle beer.
Our founding fathers hashed out our democracy over beer (George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson were all outspoken beer supporters, and Samuel Adams was even a professional maltster), so breweries are a fitting setting for political talking and organizing.
If you live in the Central District or Capitol Hill, you should go to Standard Brewing (2504 S Jackson St), a brewery that epitomizes community. If it's raining on the patio, the interior might get crowded, but a tight-packed crowd of buzzing anti-Trumpers is where I want to be right now.
And their beer is really, really good. Try the Spelt Saison, a French farmhouse ale with the finest touch of tartness. Saisons are generally all about the yeast, with pale malts taking a back seat, but this saison is brewed with spelt and whole wheat, giving it a grainy, complex flavor. Or go for their Altbier, a malty red ale with interesting chemistry. Altbiers are the only ale that is fermented at lager-like temperatures and then aged after fermentation in lagering tanks, giving these beers the smoothness and drinkability of a lager. Think about that peculiarity instead of thinking about what Trump will do to the Endangered Species Act.
There isn't a better place in the world to commiserate than a busy English pub. It may be the sweaters and dry humor, but I think the therapy of a true English pub is in the cask ale. Cask ale is the traditional beer of England—unfiltered, uncarbonated, and served at cellar temperature, these are rainy heartbreak's best friend. And Machine House Brewery in Georgetown (5840 Airport Way S) is producing some of the best cask ales outside of the British Isles.
Machine House is all about tradition—their beers are full of flavor but light on alcohol. Try their Dark Mild, a beer heavy on malt character but light on the palate and only 3.7 percent alcohol. Or grab a Best Bitter, a copper and slightly bitter beer that I could drink all day. These are beers from the English day-drinking tradition—everyone is plastered in an English pub by seven p.m.—so get on a bus to Georgetown and spend a Saturday getting slowly shitfaced with your fellow Seattleites WHO DIDN'T VOTE FOR TRUMP.
Plus, the UK's vote to leave the EU is nearly as depressing as our election of Trump, so drinking cask ale is a form of transatlantic sympathizing for our fellow urbanites lamenting in London.
If you are a solitary depressive, go to Holy Mountain Brewing (1421 Elliott Ave W). It's a clean, super-high-ceilinged taproom in Interbay with beers so amazing and delicate that you can easily get lost in them. Here, you can contemplate the finer notes of oak barrels instead of getting lost in a futile argument with a Bernie bro over how Debbie Wasserman Schultz is responsible for Trumpism.
Order Holy Mountain's Remnant and soak in the aromas of oak, lemon, and mustiness—is that a hint of grass? I don't know, think about it over another sip instead of thinking about the next anti-LGBTQ bill Paul Ryan will introduce on the House floor, with Mike Pence's endorsement. Order Covenant next, a slightly sweeter, slightly tarter beer that smells a bit like armpit—but in a good way. Avoid thinking about Donald Trump's armpits. Next, try Somnium, the funkiest of this trifecta. With house-mixed cultures thrown in, this beer is seriously dank. Go smoke a bowl.
I am a cis, straight, white male, meaning even in Trump's America my voice is not marginalized, but I'm worried about everyone else. I worry about those of us who will feel the brunt of Trump's vengeance: my queer and trans friends who may see more rights stripped away, the women I know who may see their reproductive rights overturned by the Supreme Court, my Muslim and Hispanic friends who could face even more hate, and all of the plants and animals that don't even have a marginalized voice in the never-ending war humans have waged against them.
I need a beer. 
